Maunawili Falls

Maunawili Falls is a cute little waterfall that people love to jump off of into the water below. But you can’t just drive up to it, oh no, you have to hike. And it’s not a short, nor easy hike.

Somehow we missed the whole hike aspect and showed up in flip flops. Boy, was that a mistake. It was so muddy that we ended up just going barefoot to avoid slipping. There is something satisfying about feeling the mud squish in between your toes.

The biggest problem about this whole hike thing is that is was three miles and not especially easy. I was just barely starting to get over the whole wanting to puke my guts up 24/7 stage of pregnancy and the most exercise I had done was walking from my bed to the bathroom. So we took our sweet time and took A LOT of breaks.

In normal conditions (not newly pregnant and with proper footwear) the hike would have been great. It was pretty and there were great views.

What you need to know:

This adventure is totally free! Parking is on the streets of a neighborhood, so depending on what day you go and how busy it is, you may have to park kind of far away.

The hike is 3 miles long and is all dirt. There is nothing paved or easy about it. You’re going up and down and at one point there are stairs. This hike is not for the faint of heart.

Wear appropriate hiking shoes and your bathing suit. Pack a towel and some snacks and water in a backpack.

Be warned: It’s on an area of the island that gets lots of rain which makes the hike super muddy and slippery and difficult to walk on.

There’s a part of the hike where after you go down some stairs you come to a stream. Don’t go around it, cross it. If you go around it you will walk even further and not make it to the waterfall.

You can jump right off the waterfall or you can hike up a little further and jump of the edge of the cliff. But there is NO LIFEGUARD so jump at your own risk.

When we finally made it, it took some coaxing to get me into the water.

And some more coaxing to convince me to jump off the waterfall. But I did it:

Here’s Chris jumping off.

And here we do it together.

And lastly, our nasty, very sore feet at the end of the day.

Verdict: Do It!

It was a blast and I highly recommend it. (And it’s FREE!)There’s no way you could bring a stroller but I did see people with kids (albeit crying kids, but kids nonetheless).